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We report rotational distributions for the O 2 ( a 1 Δ g ) fragment from the photodissociation of jet-cooled O 3 at 248, 266, and 282 nm. The rotational distributions show a population alternation that favors the even states, as previously reported for a 300 K sample by Valentini et al. [J. Chem. Phys. 86 , 6745 (1987)]. The alternation from the jet-cooled precursor is much stronger than that observed by Valentini et al. and in contrast to their observations does not depend strongly on the O 2 ( a 1 Δ g ) vibrational state or photolysis wavelength. The odd/even alternation diminishes substantially when the ozone beam temperature is increased from 60 to 200 K, confirming its dependence on parent internal energy. The magnitude of the even/odd alternation in product rotational states from the cold ozone sample, its temperature dependence, and other experimental and theoretical evidence reported since 1987 suggest that the alternation originates from a Λ-doublet propensity and not from a mass independent curve crossing effect, as previously proposed.

We present a molecular level description of NO3→ NO + O2 photodissociation for both of the experimentally observed reaction pathways using the results of ion imaging experiments and recent theoretical studies. Vector correlation and Λ doublet propensity measurements have been performed on state-selected NO fragments in order to further characterize the stereodynamics of this reaction. Previous measurements (Grubb et al., Science, 2012, 1075-1078) of relative Λ doublet propensities along with ab initio calculations revealed that both pathways arise from roaming-type mechanisms, but each pathway arises from roaming on a different electronic potential. This model, however, assumes that NO3 dissociation takes place in the molecular plane. In the present paper, we have confirmed this assumption through speed-dependent vector correlation measurements. Strong perpendicular correlations between the velocity vector v and the angular momentum vector j are observed in the NO fragment originating from both pathways, in agreement with a constrained planar dissociation. These results are discussed in light of the absence of vector correlations in other roaming systems, which have previously been characterized by an unconstrained intra-molecular abstraction. We show that geometrical constraints should in fact be quite prevalent in roaming dynamics, and are analogous to the geometrical constraints of the corresponding bimolecular abstraction reaction.

Roaming mechanisms have recently been observed in several chemical reactions alongside trajectories that pass through a traditional transition state. Here, we demonstrate that the visible light-induced reaction NO(3) → NO + O(2) proceeds exclusively by roaming. High-level ab initio calculations predict specific NO Λ doublet propensities (orientations of the unpaired electron with respect to the molecular rotation plane) for this mechanism, which we discern experimentally by ion imaging. The data provide direct evidence for roaming pathways in two different electronic states, corresponding to both previously documented photolysis channels that produce NO + O(2). More broadly, the results raise intriguing questions about the overall prevalence of this unusual reaction mechanism.

We present analytical expressions relating the bipolar moment β(Q)(K)(k(1)k(2)) parameters of Dixon to the measured anisotropy parameters of different pump/probe geometry sliced ion images. In the semi-classical limit, when there is no significant coherent contribution from multiple excited states to fragment angular momentum polarization, the anisotropy of the images alone is sufficient to extract the β(Q)(K)(k(1)k(2)) parameters with no need to reference relative image intensities. The analysis of sliced images is advantageous since the anisotropy can be directly obtained from the image at any radius without the need for 3D-deconvolution, which is not applicable for most pump/probe geometries. This method is therefore ideally suited for systems which result in a broad distribution of fragment velocities. The bipolar moment parameters are obtained for NO(2) dissociation at 355 nm using these equations, and are compared to the bipolar moment parameters obtained from a proven iterative fitting technique for crushed ion images. Additionally, the utility of these equations in extracting speed-dependent bipolar moments is demonstrated on the recently investigated NO(3) system., (© 2011 American Institute of Physics)

The photodissociation of NO(3) has been studied using velocity map ion imaging. Measurements of the NO(2) + O channel reveal statistical branching ratios of the O((3)P(J)) fine-structure states, isotropic angular distributions, and low product translational energy consistent with barrierless dissociation along the ground state potential surface. There is clear evidence for two distinct pathways to the formation of NO + O(2) products. The dominant pathway (>70% yield) is characterized by vibrationally excited O(2)((3)Σ(g)(-), v = 5-10) and rotationally cold NO((2)Π), while the second pathway is characterized by O(2)((3)Σ(g)(-), v = 0-4) and rotationally hotter NO((2)Π) fragments. We speculate the first pathway has many similarities to the "roaming" dynamics recently implicated in several systems. The rotational angular momentum of the molecular fragments is positively correlated for this channel, suggesting geometric constraints in the dissociation. The second pathway results in almost exclusive formation of NO((2)Π, v = 0). Although product state correlations support dissociation via an as yet unidentified three-center transition state, theoretical confirmation is needed.